The Singapore stock market has been on a declining trend in the last two sessions, dropping more than 50 points, or 1.6 percent. The Straits Times Index is just a little over the 3,170-point mark and seems likely to continue this downward trend.
Investor sentiment globally remains cautious due to the expected release of key economic data later this week. While European markets exhibited mixed results, American markets were down, a trend that Asian markets are predicted to follow.
On Monday, the Straits Times Index marginally lowered primarily owing to the depreciation of property stocks, and the mixed performance of financials, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and industrials. The index closed at 3,171.12, falling by 13.79 points or 0.43 percent after volatile trading within the 3,152.87 to 3,174.74 range.
Active stocks included Ascendas REIT, which rose by 0.72 percent. However, companies such as CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, CapitaLand Investment, and City Developments saw a decline with City Developments falling 0.99 percent. Other significant movers were DBS Group, which decreased by 0.98 percent, and Venture Corporation which surged 4.96 percent.
Wall Street saw a minor decrease, as indices opened slightly higher on Monday, but experienced a fade as the day progressed. Key factors such as the forthcoming inflation reports from Germany, France, Spain, and a key US metric—the core measure of personal consumption expenditure prices—also led to investor caution.
In other economic news, there was a continued rebound in new home sales in the U.S. in January, although the rise was lower than projected. On the commodity front, the continual attacks by Houthi militants on the Red Sea route raised supply concerns, and this saw West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures climb higher to end at $77.58 a barrel.
